Unity

When Twilight awoke the next morning, she could remember nothing from the dream. The young unicorn mare stumbled blearily out of her bed, tripping over a tear in her blanket. Frowning thoughtfully at it, Twilight managed to make it to her bathroom. For some strange reason, she was quite uncoordinated this morning, even more so than usual. As she went to move through the bathroom door, she paused. Something was… different. It was not different in a bad way, but it was still there. This had been her room ever since she had moved into the palace, and she new every feature of it by heart. Something had changed.

As Twilight went to nudge the door open with her magic, it hit her. She was taller. She was not much taller, or she would have immediately noticed the change. But it was still there. Twilight estimated she was a good three inches taller than she had been earlier in the day. It was then that Twilight also registered how she felt. She felt more powerful and not just magical wise. Her entire body felt loosely coiled and smooth. It was altogether an interesting, pleasant feeling. She cast a careful eye over herself craning her head around to stare at her own glossy back. She was not entirely sure, but she could almost imagine that she had actually developed more muscle mass. That was impossible. Ponies did not unexpectedly grow more muscle and become taller in the middle of the night. Shaking her head swiftly and whickering to herself, Twilight nudged open the door to the bathroom.

As she moved to her bathtub, she caught her reflection in the mirror. She paused, turned to stare, her mouth gaping open in shock. The unicorn regarding her from the mirror was not her. It couldn’t be. Twilight blinked several times, and so did the reflection. Okay, so it was certainly her. But, by Celestia, she simply looked drop dead gorgeous. Twilight leaned in a little, keen to take in every detail of her new appearance. Her horn was longer. That was the very first thing Twilight noticed. Her horn was her pride and joy; while she tried not to be a vain unicorn, her horn was the single most important feature she was proud of. Now it was longer, every bit as long as Princess Celestia’s. Twilight tore her eyes away from her longer horn and gazed at the rest of her.

She was taller, exactly three inches, like she had thought before entering the room. Instead of looking oddly out of place, it looked like she belonged that whole three inches taller. What she noticed next was her mane. It still hung in a ruler straight edge across her forehead, parting neatly and evenly across her horn. But it was glossy, practically illuminated from within. Looking closely, Twilight could make out little dancing sparks dotting her mane, like little bursts of magical energy. It looked rather like the stars that adorned the mane of Princess Luna. As she had suspected in the hallway, she had developed more muscle. It was very subtle, giving her curves that had never been there before. And, if Twilight had to admit to herself, those curves were quite enticing. All four of her legs were thicker too, corded with more muscle that still failed to make her look odd. Twilight felt as if these new muscles are designed to improve her reflexes and agility; they were nowhere near as prominent as Applejack’s leg muscles.

Above all the other physical changes wrought upon her, what caught her gaze the most was her eyes.  Even though she was loath to admit it, her eyes were something else that she had been proud of, even vain of. They had been such a pretty purple color that matched the rest of her. Now, they were more than just a pretty purple. They sparkled and shone with what seemed to be intelligence. They spoke volumes of knowledge and study. Looking into those wise, amethyst orbs, Twilight could actually feel that this unicorn knew things that few other ponies ever would. Twilight opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling to find words.

“Wow,” she finally breathed. Twilight froze again. That was not her voice. It was every bit as quiet as Fluttershy’s voice on her most quiet day, but it still managed to sound loud and clear and could probably capture the attention of everypony else. As she stood there dumbly and stared, her eyes caught sight of a small piece of folded parchment tucked behind the edge of the mirror. Her horn glowed softly, and the parchment unfolded itself and floated up to her eyes.

Twilight,

I hope you enjoy the changes we have wrought. Consider it a gift from your idols.

--C.

Twilight could only stare at the short mysterious letter. There was no way this was possible. Nopony could just turn her into an entirely different mare overnight. And who was C? Who were her idols? Those questions buzzed through her mind. The only ponies she knew with the initial C were Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance. Could it be possible her mentor had done this to her, to prepare her for the Unity Chalice? It did not seem likely; as a judge in the tournament, Princess Celestia was supposed to be impartial. Twilight felt her breath quicken as she began to feel the onslaught of her infamous "panic-mode". Twilight took deep, calming breaths. She has not had an episode for several months now, and she was not about to start. Resolving to ask her teacher later, Twilight mentally shrugged it off and stepped into the shower.

**********

Amethyst was disgruntled. After returning to Ponyville, the young changeling had staked out Twilight’s tree house home for hours. Even though she desperately could use some sleep, she dared not miss her chance to follow Twilight. Lyra, Celestia praise her lover, was still at home, preparing for their journey to Canterlot.  The mint green unicorn had adamantly refused to remain at Ponyville while Amethyst trekked halfway across Equestria. Amethyst had given that argument up without much of a fight. Not only did she have a hard time saying no to Lyra as it was, but Amethyst would be glad for the company.

Even though Amethyst’s plan to keep an eye out on Twilight was a good idea, she had not realized she had already missed her opportunity. It was not until Rarity had passed Amethyst on her way to the train station that Amethyst discovered that Twilight was already in Canterlot, having left the previous day. Amethyst was all for tearing directly off to Canterlot, but Lyra had put her hoof down, saying that Amethyst really needed some sleep. So the pair had bedded down for the rest of the day and night, catching up on lost sleep from their time traveling to and from the Verdant Forests, the changeling lands.

This was the reason why Amethyst was currently disgruntled. After a long and uneventful train ride to Canterlot, the last thing the young changeling wanted was to be ensconced in the Grand Ballroom full of noisy creatures, attempting to find Twilight Sparkle and her group. Amethyst knew they had to be there somewhere; since Twilight was taking part in the Unity Chalice, she could not miss the opening ceremonies. Amethyst did not think that someone who radiated power like Twilight would be hard to find, but with everyone in the area gleaming with some sort of power, finding Twilight was proving to be impossible. Then, as a pair of griffons moved aside slightly, Amethyst saw them. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were sitting alone at an ornate table towards one of the corners of the room, facing the judge’s table. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Friends, a silver plague read in simple script. Lyra had spotted her too, and nudged her lover gently. Amethyst nodded.

Amethyst blinked, staining her senses. Twilight Sparkle was not entirely the same pony she had been the previous day. The first thing Amethyst noticed was the horn. It was almost as long as Chrysalis’. There were other changes, too. Her eyes were more alive than ever before. Twilight also seemed to have quite a bit more muscle mass, in addition to a mane that seemed illuminated and had little motes of magical energy dancing in it. If Amethyst was not mistaken, Twilight was also a bit taller. And her power! Twilight Sparkle had always radiated power, but now her future Queen was putting out so much power Amethyst could feel it all the way across the room. The young changeling wanted nothing more than to rush across the room and ask Twilight to be her Queen right then and there. Vizio’s arrogant look as Amethyst was sent on this mission still haunted her vision. Amethyst wanted nothing more than to prove Vizio wrong. It took all of her willpower to ignore this impulse. It was bad enough that she was practically stalking Twilight with an unbridled fervor; Amethyst could not act too rashly now or it was all over.

She turned to Lyra and saw her marefriend staring at her. Amethyst shrugged. Amethyst had her suspicions about Twilight’s transformation; but could not confirm anything yet. They both turned their attention forward again. Princess Celestia had stepped up to a raised platform before the judge’s table, as though planning to give a speech. The Emperor of Zebras and the Flock Mother of Griffons stood slightly off to either side of the radiant Sun Princess, with the Dragon Queen, Athest the Fire Starter, behind. Princess Luna was there too, watching her sister intently, along with half a dozen Solar Guards.

Princess Celestia spoke, her voice easily carrying through the great ballroom and causing a hush to fall over the crowd. “Good day, my subjects. Good day, Zebras of Zenith, Griffons of Gryphos, and Dragons of the Netherlands. Welcome. Welcome to the opening ceremonies of the six hundred and seventy eighth Unity Chalice. Before we officially open the tournament and prepare to move into the qualifying rounds, Emperor Zackra and Flock Mother Godwyna would like to say a few words.”

The Emperor was the next to step up to the dais. He is powerfully built, like an earth pony, all smooth muscle and hardened skin. “Welcome, all of you.” His voice was as powerful as his body, reverberating off the walls. “It brings me great pleasure to be here, once again, for the Unity Chalice. As Princess Celestia mentioned—” here he dipped his head to the Princess in question “—I am Zackra of the Zebras. Six hundred and seventy eight years have passed since the Zebras, the Griffons, the Ponies, and even the dragon Tribes have came to peace. The Unity Chalice is a testament to that ideal. When the Ponies had first approached outside nations in their quest for peace everywhere, we scoffed at them. Peace was only possible for ponies, we said. Ponies have had over a thousand years to find peace under the esteemed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Other leaders believed peace was not possible for anyone else. Fighting was in our nature, we told ourselves. So that is exactly what we did. We fought for land, for power, and for food. We seemed incapable of living in harmony.

“When Princess Celestia had no choice but to banish her sister to the moon to protect the peace they had both worked so hard for, she came to the rest of the us and demanded to know why we could not set aside our petty differences and live together. Princess Celestia argued that if she could banish her own sister until such a time a cure for her nightmare was found, then why could not the Zebras and Griffons and Dragons find peace amongst themselves? Were we not the greatest leaders of our nations? We thought about it, Zebras and Griffons and Dragons, and we decided the answer was yes! What leaders were we if we could not stop the fighting among our people? And so, the Unity Chalice was born. A friendly tournament to blow off some steam every now and then and to see who could boast the best champions the world has ever seen.”

The zebra raised his voice slightly. “Now I know, and so do my people in here today, that there is a particular Twilight Sparkle participating in this year’s Unity Chalice, in addition to her team member, Rainbow Dash.” Zackra’s eyes stared directly at Twilight and Rainbow, way in the back. The unicorn flushed in embarrassment as the eyes of everyone in the room turned to her and her friend. “I, for one, am eager to see how well this extraordinary pair performs.  Twilight is the Element of Magic, Celestia’s Faithful Student, and she’s saved Equestria, and by extension all of Sol several times. Rainbow Dash has been right there with Twilight, steadfast and Loyal. She has preformed the Sonic Rainboom multiple times and is probably the fastest flyer we will ever see. You have the gratitude of the Zebra Empire, Miss Sparkle, Miss Dash, and I can give you no higher praise than that.” With those words, the Zebra stepped down, returning to his place to the left of Princess Celestia.

There was a thunderous round of applause and hoofbeats. Flock Mother Godwyna stepped forward to take Zackra’s place, and gradually the noise died down. When Godwyna spoke, her voice was surprisingly smooth, quite unlike a normal Griffon.

“Welcome, friends and allies. It seems that this year Zackra stole the limelight, so I shall spare you the same speech.” She smiled slightly at the zebra leader. “Now, I know some of you are wondering why the turnout for this year’s Unity Chalice has nearly quadrupled those of previous years. Part of this, I’m sure many have guessed, is because the Element of Magic and the Element of Loyalty is here with us today. While this might be some of the cause for such a large turnout, the presence of two Heroines is not the only thing drawing us here like moths to a flame. This year, for the first time since its creation, the Unity Chalice now has the honor of being judged by both Princesses of Equestria. Princess Luna, freed from the darkness that was Nightmare Moon, will join her sister Princess Celestia on the judge’s bench.”

Godwyna stepped back off the dais, gesturing Princess Luna forward. The midnight Alicorn approached the spotlight nervously, as though she expected to be ridiculed. When she spoke, her voice was soft, with no trace of the sometimes present Royal Canterlot Voice. “I am grateful for this honor, Godwyna of Gryphos, Zackra of Zebrith, Athest of the Netherlands. As you know, I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night skies. On this day six hundred and seventy eight years ago, I watched from my imprisonment on the moon as Celestia completed her quest for peace everywhere. The nightmare that had taken a hold of me at the time scoffed at the notion and laughed at it. I, however, was overwhelmed with compassion. Despite all that the darkness had done in my body, my dear sister was still striving to carry out our original plans. That right there showed me how much Celestia has always loved me, even if Nightmare Moon never wanted to acknowledge it. I am grateful to have her for a sister. However, I sense that you are eager for the start of the Unity Chalice. There will be time for more stories later.”

Princess Luna paused, surveying those around her. "I, Princess Luna of Equestria, hereby declare the tournament open!”

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Tiny motes of sunlight began to filter into the spacious room. Celestia’s glorious Sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, its warming light caressing all of Canterlot well before any other place. Ponies who thrived upon the night life of the city that never slept were slowly returning to the comfort of their homes, fully prepared to sleep off their hangovers during the day. Other ponies, who slept during Luna’s night like normal creatures were slowly being roused by the insistent rays, just like they had been for thousands of years. One room, however, situated in one of Canterlot’s impressive towers, was doing its best to foil the attempts of the sun to rouse the ponies within. Even the radiant might of the life giver could be held at bay by a simple black curtain. But Celestia’s Sun was persistent, and little beams if light peeked in from the sides and top of the curtain. One such beam found itself lying directly across the closed eyelids of Twilight Sparkle.

The sorceress squirmed slightly, trying to unconsciously remove her head from the offending light before it could wake her fully. She only succeeded in making her predicament worse, however, and was slowly drug up from the realm of comforting sleep. Her eyes opened slowly, and she winced as the Sun’s light stabbed into her unprotected orbs. With a muffled exclamation of dismay, Twilight shifted over so that the slanted lance of light was positioned next to her, out of her eyes. She tried to drift back off to sleep, but the damage was done and she was thoroughly awake. She lay there for a moment, letting her protesting mind catch up with itself. She had not dreamed last night, which for some reason filled her with a mysterious sense of relief. She frowned as her brain followed that train of thought. Why would she be relieved to not have dreamed? Unicorns only ever dreamed once or twice a year, a phenomenon that was the result of their innate magic.

Twilight lay there, unmoving, as she tried to piece together the hectic events from the previous day. She remembered waking up and finding herself completely changed. She remembered the opening ceremonies for the Unity Chalice, but everything before her day started and most of the events after the opening events were nothing but a pleasant blur in her mind. It was almost as if somepony were shielding her memories, preventing her from remembering something that might have been important. Twilight snorted at the thought. She was just being silly. Nopony would just mess with her memories, and the only ponies who had enough power to do so where the Princesses. I’ll probably feel better after some breakfast.

Eventually Twilight became aware of another sound in the room: slow, steady breathing. In, and out. In, and out. The breaths never once sped up or slowed down, keeping that same even tempo. Rolling over upon her back, Twilight could just make out the shadowy form of Rainbow Dash on the darker side of the room. The newest Wonderbolt stood upright upon her hind hooves, wings flared to help keep her balance. Her forehooves are flung out to either side of her just under her impressive wingspan, further keeping her body centered. Her maroon eyes were closed as she breathed deeply. Twilight recognized this as the meditation stance Rainbow Dash preferred to take. The sight was almost enough to make Twilight laugh.

It was Captain Spitfire who had first suggested that Rainbow Dash should meditate on a regular basis, to help the cyan flier keep her energy under control and her body centered at all times. Apparently mediating was something that every Wonderbolt did, an easy method to become calm and flight prepared. Naturally, since Spitfire had suggested it, it did not take very long at all before Rainbow Dash was doing exactly as her idol had suggested. Her friends had never seen the cyan Pegasus sit still for very long at all, and seeing Rainbow Dash doing just that for long periods of time was a novelty. Rainbow had tried to explain it to them, telling them that it allowed her to keep her abundant energy and passive Pegasi magic always ready to be called upon. But for all of Dash’s explanations, the only one of her six friends who understood was Twilight Sparkle.

The mare in question found her own breathing slow to match up with Rainbow Dash’s. With practiced grace, Twilight rose onto her rear hooves. Her horn began to glow softly with record low power drainage, and her magic seeped out to cover her entire form. As it did so, Twilight raised both of her left legs out at a ninety degree angle from her still planted right rear hoof. Her right forehoof stretched out in the opposite direction of her left. She closed her eyes, and thus remained, balanced upon her right hoof only. Twilight felt her consciousness slowly grow distant as she lost herself in the simple action of meditation.

Trying to explain meditation to one who has not mastered the art was hard. Not only was it a good way to relax, but it also allowed the practitioner in question assess his or her magical reserves and physical, kinetic energy. Twilight always used meditation to accurately assess her magical font, rather than just quickly looking it over like other unicorns were wont to do. As her consciousness delved deeper towards the pool of simmering energy, Twilight could instinctively tell that it had grown—again. Twilight sighed softly to herself before she plunged her essence into her magical font. She began to count. One… Two… Three… Four… Five… On and on she went, counting steadily and evenly. She hit fifty and kept going. Then she hit one hundred, and shortly after one hundred and fifty.

After hitting nine hundred, Twilight began to grown concerned. She has spent roughly fifteen minutes trying to reach the other side of her magical font, and there were no signs of her reaching it soon. With a grim determination she continued on. One thousand. One thousand five hundred. Finally, right as Twilight hit the two thousand one hundred mark, she was through. It had taken her two thousand one hundred seconds to cross from one side of her magical font to the other. That was roughly thirty five minutes she had spent evaluating herself. The last time she had done this, it had only taken her fifteen minutes, and that had been a week and a half ago. Since then Twilight’s Font has easily doubled in size. She estimated her Font to be as big as Ponyville Lake, and almost just as deep. She had enough magical energy to flatten Canterlot Palace to its foundations at least twice. The thought made her shudder slightly.

With a tendril of thought, Twilight sliced away a small wagon wheel sized piece of her Font, binding it to the forefront of her reserves so that she would only use this piece. As long as Twilight made sure she only drew from this small portion of her Font, she wouldn’t have to worry about using too much energy. Twilight turned her attention back to her Font, and sighed. She couldn’t even tell that she had done anything. That was yet another thing that set her apart from any other caster alive: Her Font was unlimited. As fast as she could draw from it, it regenerated itself. It had taken several grueling tests to confirm this, but it was true. Twilight could levitate entire buildings for days on end without even falling into the Magical Fatigue phase. One of the first things Princess Celestia had taught her after that was how to draw upon a limited amount of her Font.

Twilight knew that she should be starting her day soon, but she was so relaxed. The worries of the tournament, the implied vigor of Dash’s training sessions for the pair… None of that mattered in the slightest right now. A sudden thought struck her, and she grinned inwardly. Slowly and gently, Twilight expanded her consciousness outward. In doing so, she could feel the things around her. There was the nightstand resting proudly next to the head of the bed. There was the coffee table, and the door to the bathroom. Then, at long last, Twilight came upon the object she had been seeking: Rainbow Dash’s warm body.

Or, more accurately, the bright pinprick that was her best friend’s mind. Reaching out a tentative tendril of thought, Twilight brushed against Rainbow’s mind, letting the mare know who it was. A moment later, Dash’s mind opened up and greeted Twilight’s, dousing the sorceress with the by now familiar sensations her friend experienced.

Hey, Twi, Dash greeted warmly. Sleep well?

Good morning, Rainbow Dash! I slept like a rock, I suppose.

Rainbow Dash mentally snickered, sending an odd rippling sensation through the mind link. Your snores certainly sound like you did!

I do not snore! Twilight retorted, indignant.

In response, Dash sent Twilight a mental image: Twilight, sprawled undignified upon her bed, snoring loudly. Oh really? The Wonderbolt giggled.

Twilight blushed, sending the heat undulating through the connection. At least I don’t drool, the unicorn snarked back, sending a mental image of Rainbow crashed at one of Twilight’s library tables, doing just that. Twilight felt a slight twinge of playful justification as Rainbow’s cheeks heated.

Dash sighed. Okay, you win this one. The cyan mare paused, sensing something through their connection. No matter how hard either one of them tried, it was nearly impossible to hide something while sharing this mental sharing of minds, this “Link” as Twilight so eloquently called it. Twilight had been the first to take notice of Rainbow Dash’s increased magical energy while she was meditating, being more sensitive than other unicorns. Dash had always been slightly more magical than other Pegasi; her natural affinity towards the air and weather proved this. As Dash meditated, though, her magic eventually coalesced itself into her own personal Font. With a bit of practice Dash discovered she could actually control her magic. She couldn’t do anything as fancy as levitation or the big magical activities Twilight partook in, but she was strong enough to control the winds and even lightning. Rainbow had also been the one to forge this Link between her and her purple friend. Losing control while experimenting with her powers, her magic had automatically sought out the nearest anchor to stabilize itself: Twilight Sparkle.

The result was this permanent mental link. Rainbow had not liked the idea of always being privy to Twilight’s mind and innermost thoughts. Sure she was a really close friend towards the egghead, but to be tethered to something else like that made her extremely uneasy. Eventually, however, Dash had discovered she could just “tune” Twilight out a bit, shoving the Link to the very back of her mind unless needed. But now Rainbow Dash could tell something was bothering her friend.

What’s the matter, Twi? Dash asked gently. I can tell something is bothering you.

Dash felt Twilight sigh. My Font has grown again. The sorceress said wearily.

Dash should have known this was the issue. Being this mentally close to Twilight, the unicorn couldn’t hide her concerns over her Font from Dash. It had taken a bit of coaxing, but eventually Twilight had told Dash the whole story. The day Rainbow Dash had pulled off her first ever Sonic Rainboom and Twilight had gotten her cutie mark, the unicorn had lost control of her magic. She startled the examiners, turned her parents into flora, and hatched the baby Spike into a giant full grown dragon, a task that was meant to be impossible. But that was not all Twilight had done. She had created a magical flare so immense in scale that it could have demolished all of Canterlot and a fifty mile radius around it. Princess Celestia had to close the flare itself, and help filly Twilight get her magic under control. Since then, Twilight has had an unprecedented magical growth. While other unicorns would have a small magical spurt, Twilight simply kept growing and growing.

How big? Rainbow Dash asked now. She was genuinely curious; she knew Twilight worried about losing control of all that magic, but Dash saw nothing to be concerned about. Twilight had never lost control in all of the years the librarian had been in Ponyville, and Dash knew Twilight was not going to any time soon.

Twilight hesitated. It’s now about the size of Ponyville Lake, and probably every bit as deep. I could probably level Canterlot at least twice with plenty of power left over.

Rainbow Dash whistled with her mind. That was a lot of power, all right. A small part of her insisted that she should be afraid of a unicorn with this much power, but the rest of her easily drowned that small voice out. This was Twilight Sparkle. The sorceress has been dealing with excess magic for years now. Even Princess Celestia had admitted that she had not seen a unicorn with so much control.

At the rate you’re going Twi, you won’t need me for the Unity Chalice.

Twilight could only chuckle weakly. Aren’t you afraid of me? I know I would be.

Dash frowned, making sure that Twilight felt it. Why would I be afraid of you? You’re Twilight Sparkle. Simple. If you were going to have another of your giant flare thingys then you would have done it before now.

But—

“No buts, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash spoke aloud, withdrawing almost completely from the Link as the cyan Wonderbolt returned to her body. With a slight gasp, Twilight did the same, her horn dying and flopping down onto her bed again. “Now, come on. We’ve still got to go get breakfast and meet our friends when the Friendship Express gets here.”

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Flicka was ghosting a short distance behind Twilight Sparkle, following the mare’s every move as Twilight and Rainbow Dash roved through the milling pedestrians. Flicka highly doubted that something would befall Twilight before she could be brought before Chrysalis, but the dying changeling Queen was taking no chances. Flicka had originally refused to leave her Ward’s side, but Chrysalis had insisted. And despite the fact that Flicka was not a changeling, Chrysalis was still her Queen and employer. Lyra and Amethyst (disguised as Bon-Bon) had wanted to help keep tabs on their future Queen, but Flicka had asked that they keep their distance. It was easy enough for an unknown unicorn to blend in with a crowd, and if somepony recognized Lyra or Amethyst it could compromise their position.

Flicka swiped her organic forelimb over her left eye, hidden by her long bangs. Performing such a long distance teleport had taken a lot from the bodyguard, and she had spent the better part of the morning recuperating. Her mechanical monocle scanned the boisterous crowd of the train station carefully, seeking possible threats. It provided detailed information to her like a book, taking in distances and possible attack vectors and escape routes. Behind the monocle her luminous sky blue eye flashed before she pulled her hood more firmly around her face. It was a cool sort of morning, and a hooded pony was not going to draw much attention.

“Darling!” the voice carried over the din. “Who in Equestria did your makeover?” The voice belonged to an alabaster unicorn mare, which stopped a short distance in front of her Ward. Flicka studied the newcomer closely, taking in the cutie mark and elegantly styled mane and tail. This must be Rarity, Element of Generosity and a quickly rising fashionista. Flicka was too far away to hear Twilight’s reply, but the shadow of a grin flitted at the corners of her mouth for a moment. Amethyst had reported Twilight’s change, but, being away from the Hive for so long, the young changeling was unfamiliar with the Queen’s magic. Flicka, on the other hand, could smell Chrysalis’ magic covering Twilight completely. While Flicka decided that the changes really made Twilight look more regal, it still alarmed the cyborg; Chrysalis must really not have much time left if the changeling Queen was already slowly transferring power to Twilight before even speaking with her.

More of Twilight’s friends converged on her and the Element of Loyalty, temporarily obscuring her charge from view. Flicka relaxed a bit, positive that no dangers lurked upon the noisy platform. The bodyguard followed discreetly as Twilight bent down, picked up a young dragon, and began to move back towards Canterlot. Flicka glanced briefly at the sky as she did so, gauging the position of the sun. It was nearing mid afternoon, and Twilight would start her training regime soon.